It is known in the art to provide a golf ball collecting apparatus, or picker, that includes a frame to which a plurality of discs are mounted for rotation about an axis. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,714. The discs have facing surfaces which define spaces therebetween in which golfballs may become lodged. The golf ball collecting apparatus also includes fingers which project into the spaces to dislodge the golf balls from in between the discs as the discs rotate about the axis in a first direction. The dislodged golf balls are then transferred to a basket wherein they are collected.
One difficulty with such golf ball collecting apparatuses is that once the golf balls are lodged in the space between discs, the golfballs may be carried in either direction with the discs about the axis. Where the golf ball collecting apparatus is moving in a forward direction, the operation is as described above. However, if the golfball collecting apparatus reverses direction, the golfballs are carried with the discs about the axis in the opposite direction. Eventually, the golf balls collide with the reverse side of the fingers. This can cause damage to, and even eventual breakage of, the fingers over time.
It is also known in the art to use an L-shaped plate to define the finger. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,365,540. Specifically, the L-shaped plate has two legs which meet at a common vertex and extend therefrom to two spaced ends. The spaced end of one of the legs is cantilevered into the space between the discs by pinning the common vertex to the frame. The other leg is pinned to the frame at its end.
It is thought that this configuration may actually be less advantageous than the typical configuration discussed above. Specifically, it is believed that the surface of the pinned leg actually forces the golf balls deeper into the space between the discs when the direction is reversed. This causes the golfballs to contact the cantilevered leg even further from the common vertex, causing an even greater moment to be applied to the leg. This increased moment is thought to increase the stresses in the cantilevered leg.
It is further known in the art to provide a golf ball collecting apparatus which is operational both in the forward and reverse directions. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,355. Rather than using discs, wires are arranged like spokes about a central drum. The golf balls become lodged between adjacent spokes such that they are carried with the spokes about the axis of the drum. An ejector mechanism is also provided including bars arranged parallel to the drum axis and mounted about a shaft that has an axis eccentric to the drum axis. The ejector mechanism moves relative to the drum to dislodge the golf balls regardless of the direction of motion of the collecting apparatus.
While such an ejector mechanism may function regardless of the direction of motion of the collecting apparatus, it is thought to be unnecessarily complex. Additionally, given the rigors through which golf ball collecting apparatuses are normally put, it is believed that the apparatus described in the preceding paragraph lacks sufficient robustness. As a consequence, it is believed that a considerable amount of time will be required to maintain the golfball collecting apparatus, thereby limiting the amount of time the apparatus is available to perform its golf ball collecting duties.